The World: Was It Worth It?

IN the blackboard-crisp terms favored by its Pentagon planners, the
Laotian operation is deep into its third and final phase. Having
slashed across some tendrils of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and choppered
into Tchepone, South Viet Nam's troops are beginning to pull back to
the border. As the withdrawal gathered speed last week, the question
was increasingly asked: Was it worth it? The answer will not be known
in full until the operation is over, but it can be partly determined by
comparing the ARVN struggle in Laos with the invasion's original goals....